Diane Mermigas of the Hollywood Reporter writes that the new world order of media and entertainment is taking hold in 2006, causing media companies to compete for consumer and advertiser spending like never before. She says the digital broadband revolution is forcing traditional media companies to reinvent themselves right before our eyes, "placing their first unproven bets" on extending their content and services to different outlets so consumers can decide where, when, and how to consume content. She analyzes the advantages and challenges facing each of the major media companies in 2006 and the years ahead, saying Time Warner …

BellSouth Corp. and AT&T Inc. have taken the cover off their joint interactive yellow pages project, YellowPages.com. Last year, BellSouth and SBC Communications (now part of AT&T) bought YellowPages.com in order to combine their yellow pages directories into an online service. The joint venture takes them head to head with the likes of Google and Yahoo!, which both offer local search and yellow pages services. An analyst says he believes that YellowPages.com has an edge over the Internet giants, which "are not anywhere near having the kind of database that a yellow pages publisher already has." He said he expects …

Skype, the Web's most popular Voice over Internet Protocol provider, has upgraded its phone service, adding videoconferencing and a toolbar that lets users dial contacts in Microsoft Outlook with a click. The beta version of Skype 2.0 becomes available to users today via a free download. The company did not say when the final version would be ready. The video feature also does not cost extra; Skype only charges for calls to land lines and cell phones. To enable videoconferencing, users either need to attach a digital camera to their computers or use a Web cam. Skype will partner with …

Billionaire stock trader Carl Icahn Wednesday fired a warning at Time Warner Inc., telling analysts he would hold the board personally responsible if America Online is sold "for the wrong reasons." Icahn said he was aware of several suitors who had been turned away by the Time Warner board, which he said he will battle to replace if its members make the wrong move. It is widely known that Time Warner has held recent talks with Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. over a possible deal involving AOL.

America Online and technology firm InfoGin have developed a method of transcoding the Internet so that full Web pages fit on the tiny screens of mobile phones. The Time Warner company said the new service will allow mobile phone users to access any site as they would from a desktop computer. Until now, other mobile services have only been able to download WAP-compatible (wireless application protocol) pages. The tiny screens on most Internet-enabled mobile devices have been too small to download most Web pages.

Wired analyzes the threat Google's rapid growth poses to established companies in different sectors, describing each threat, identifying the threatened companies, highlighting signs of panic and then adding a reality check. The article contends that broadband video companies and those looking to enter broadband video should fear the search giant, but even Google will not be able to acquire the content necessary to meet its ambitions, meaning it will likely look to make an acquisition. Classifieds and auction companies like craigslist and eBay should be very worried about Google's plans for Google Base, its free classifieds listings site, which caused …

Fifteen months ago, Google asked for $85 per share in its bizarre Dutch-style initial public offering. Most people thought this asking price, lowered from what was once between $108 and $135 per share, was already sky-high and could possibly end in embarrassment for the search company. Those people would be very, very wrong. On Monday, Google's stock price finished the day at $423.48 per share, Cnet reports, making it more valuable than Time Warner, Cisco Systems and eBay and Amazon.com combined. At $125 billion, Google is now in the realm of mammoth companies like Intel ($162 billion) and Microsoft …